The grind of the training camp is mostly behind the Milwaukee Bucks at this point. There's a light at the end of the tunnel with the marathon of the regular season set to begin on Wednesday night in Boston.

But before the Bucks can turn their full focus toward the Celtics and the coming season, they have one last hurdle to get over. That will come at 7:30 p.m. Friday when the Bucks host the Detroit Pistons at the BMO Harris Bradley Center for their final preseason tuneup before the results begin to matter.

While wins and losses don't matter in the preseason, the winless Bucks see Friday as a great opportunity to demonstrate improvement and readiness. During its three preseason games, Milwaukee hasn't always matched the level of intensity or effort of its opponents, which is something the Bucks hope to change against the Pistons (2-2).

"We've got to play hard, we've got to play together," Giannis Antetokounmpo said Thursday at the Sports Science Center. "We've got to do hard stuff together as a team.

"Going through training camp we've been practicing really hard and our bodies for sure are going to be a little bit sore, but I think this game is really important for us to take a step forward."

With a week between their third preseason game and their fourth, the Bucks have focused on making the most of their limited time together in training camp. They hunkered down in Madison for three days to start the week, growing together on the court while building chemistry by sharing activities together off of it.

During that time, the team not only had positive practices, but the group was whole for the first time in more than a week as Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova returned to full participation after sitting out due to injuries.

"You're not going to have regular rotations in preseason with all the guys that you have," coach Jason Kidd said. "You try to get some of your stuff down in practice, especially with the shortened camp."

As the days wore on, one of the main emphases during training camp was "attention to detail." Kidd referenced it numerous times and player after player worked it into answers to questions regarding what the team needed to do to improve.

It's likely to remain a theme over the course of the regular season, with Friday marking the team's last chance to practice that skill in a setting where the result won't count against them.

"We just have to make sure we pay attention to detail and play consistently," center Greg Monroe said of Friday's game. "Just playing hard.

"Win or lose, obviously we want to win, but just playing how we play and doing the things we do for the whole game. ... We just have to make sure that we're sticking to our principles defensively, playing at maximum effort and just moving the ball, playing at a little bit faster pace."

Big gains: Antetokounmpo is noticeably stronger heading into his fifth season. Part of his work over the summer and preparation for the season involved putting on muscle and with it added weight.

"This morning I was 233 (pounds), last year I played at 222," Antetokounmpo said. "At the beginning of training camp I was 238. A lot of water, a lot of good food, a lot of mama's food. ...

"Just feeling stronger, I wanted to be more athletic. Being able to push guys around a lot easier. I feel a lot better."

He has appeared in only one preseason game but wasted no time in putting his added strength to use last Friday against the Chicago Bulls. Antetokounmpo made numerous confident, powerful drives to the hoop on the way to scoring 24 points in 23 minutes.

Last spot: The Milwaukee Bucks requested waivers on Xavier Munford on Thursday afternoon after one week with the team, removing him from the competition for the team's final roster spot. Only four remain — Joel Anthony, Gerald Green, Gary Payton II and Brandon Rush.

Kidd said the final decision will probably come after Friday's game.

"You're going to play those guys and give those guys a fair chance at trying to win that spot," he said. "We'll see how they do tomorrow.

"All of them have had a great camp and have done everything we've asked them, so there's no complaints. It's just we have one spot and it's going to be a tough decision."

Antetokounmpo is glad he isn't involved in making the call.

"Everybody from those guys are really good," Antetokounmpo said.

"I feel like, really, really sad that someone has to not be with the team because I know he has the talent to be with the team. Whoever is not with the team anymore I'm sure we'll thank them as a team for helping us out through the training camp."

MACC Fund: Friday's game is the Bucks' 41st annual contest benefitting Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer. Since the inaugural event in 1977, the annual MACC Fund game has raised more than $1.2 million for children’s cancer research at the Midwest Children’s Cancer Center at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.